As part of its continuing programming supported by the Mellon Foundation’s Humanities in Place Grant, the River Pierce Foundation presents Soy el Rio, an Exhibition and Performance by Matamoros-based artist Javier Dragustinovis on Saturday, December 20, from 12:30-6:00 p.m. at the Trevino-Uribe Fort in San Ygnacio.

Dragustinovis is a multidisciplinary artist and curator at Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Tamaulipas (MACT) in Matamoros, Mexico. His work addresses themes of migration, labor, and community collaboration, and has been exhibited at spaces including Shedhalle Zurich and La Cápsula in Switzerland; the National Museum of World Cultures; the Museum of Contemporary Art of Tamaulipas in Mexico; the Hyde Park Art Center; the San Benito Cultural Heritage Museum, and the International Museum of Art and Science in McAllen.

He directed the films A Par del Río (2020) and An Architecture for the North (2022). He co-authored the book I Am More Than My Hands: The Different Worlds of Women in the Maquiladora (Friedrich Ebert Foundation, 2001).

His exhibit in San Ygnacio will include drawing, photography, installation, video, and interactive performance. The event will also feature a free screening of Michael Tracy’s documentary Culture, Water, and Money: The Passion of the Frontier (1997). The screening will be followed by a panel discussion featuring Dragustinovis and Trevino-Uribe Fort architectural conservator Frank Briscoe.

An interactive performance by Dragustinovis will take place directly after the panel discussion. Dragustinovis will lead participants in a procession to the river where the performance will take place. An artist mixer will take place following the performance. The event is free and open to the public and is supported by the Mellon Foundation. For more information, please visit riverpierce.org or call (956) 765-5784

In honor of the Virgen de Guadalupe, Rev. Leszek J. Waclawik, Deacon Juan Zamarripa, parishioners of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, and Matachines del Sagrado Corazón will lead a procession Thursday, Dec. 11 at 6:30 p.m. from the Scott Street Park to the Church at 1718 San Jorge.

The procession, which marks the beginning of a two-day commemoration of the Feast Day of the Virgen de Guadalupe (Dec. 12, 1531), and all other events are open to the public.

Thursday evening’s events include a youth group play, a Novena, another performance by the Matachines del Sagrado Corazón, Misa Vispera, and performances by Matachines Danza Guadalupana and Matachines Asencion.

The attached schedule provides details for the events for both days. Friday, Dec. 12, begins with a performance by Mariachi Arrieros prior to Midnight Mass celebrated by Bishop James A. Tamayo. Other events of the day include a recitation of the Rosary, the Procession of the Silver Rose by the Knights of Columbus, morning Mass, a performance by Danza Patrona de America, a performance by Los Arcos Hermanos Peña, a performance by Matachines Reyna del Tepeyac, evening Mass, and a performance by Matachines Danza Guadalupana de Zapata.

Food sales include over 200 dozen tamales prepared by the Guadalupanas, which will be sold at $13 a dozen.

An upcoming art and writing contest asks Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) students to submit their visual design, artwork and written work.

The TAMIU Student Public Art Contest is currently underway. Artists can make their submissions at https://www.laredolibrary.org/tamiu-public-arts-contest-submission-form-fy26/

The contest is made possible through the City of Laredo Public Arts Project.

All mediums are welcome. Students are welcome to submit multiple artworks barring submissions are combined into one single file with each piece on separate pages and the title of each piece clearly labeled.

The deadline for submissions is Sunday, Dec. 7 at 11:59 p.m.

Selected projects may receive a cash prize award.

Learn more about the City of Laredo Public Arts Program at https://www.laredolibrary.org/public-arts-program/

For more information, contact Vanessa C. Filazzola, City of Laredo public arts program manager, at vcfilazzol@ci.laredo.tx.us

The Laredo Philharmonic presents Sounds of the Season Sunday, Dec. 7 at the LISD Performing Arts Complex (former Civic Center). The concert will include standards of the season, as well as new works.

The Laredo Philharmonic Chorale, in collaboration with choirs from Alexander and United high schools., as well as singers from LISD, TAMIU and LC will have 140 voices join the orchestra in performing Merry Christmas, Merry Christmasby John Williams from the movie Home Alone 2. 

This will be followed by the world premiere of Robert Nelson's Los Pastores, sung in Spanish and narrated by Goyo Lopez from KHOY, with the composer in the audience. 

Before intermission, the orchestra will delight audiences with The Nutcracker Suite by Tchaikovsky. 

The second half begins with orchestral favorites, Christmas at the Movies, Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire, and A Most Wonderful Christmas before being joined by the Chorale and audience for Sing Along Carols of the time honored favorites of the Christmas Season.  

Tickets are $30, and students are admitted free with their school ID. Tickets can be purchased at https://laredophilharmonic.com/

by clicking the Sounds of the Season icon, which has a link to Eventbrite at the bottom of the page, or by using the QR code on the poster below.  Please note, that the LISD PAC has a strict Clear Bag Policy that is enforced. 

An exhibition of the narrative works of San Antonio artist Sarah Fox opens Friday, Dec. 5 at the Laredo Center for the Arts.

Entitled Woman Under the Water & Other Stories, the exhibit depicts stories of life, loss, sex and love carried by archetypal beings that subvert and challenge normative notions of femininity. Fox’s imagery draws from folklore, religion, film, pop culture, erotic art, and literature to reveal feminist counter-narratives.

Sarah Fox was raised in Houston and currently resides and works in San Antonio. She teaches at Texas A&M University-San Antonio. She earned a BA from Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, where she studied studio art and feminist theory, and an MFA from the University of Texas-San Antonio.

Fox’s work has been shown throughout Texas, as well as in the Kinsey Institute (Bloomington, Indiana), Field Projects Gallery (New York, New York), Espacio Dörffi (Lanzarote, Canary Islands), Casa Lu (Mexico City), and Darmstädter Sezession, (Darmstadt, Germany). She has participated in artist residencies throughout the U.S. including The Vermont Studio Center, The Women’s Studio Workshop, Wassiac Projects, and residencies abroad at Casa Lu in Mexico City, Residencia Nautilus in the Canary Islands, Atelierhaus Hilmsen in Hilmsen, Germany, and Künstlerhaus Bethanien in Berlin. She received an Individual Artist Grant from the City of San Antonio in 2021.

The community is invited to the opening reception December 5 at 6:00 p.m. at Laredo Center for the Arts, 500 San Agustin Ave. Regular Center hours are Tuesday by appointment only, Wednesday through Friday from 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., and Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. For more information, please call (956) 710-2084.

Sarah Fox, You Are Not Alone, 48" x 72", 2025, 
Ink, Acrylic, Oil, and Embroidery on Cotton and Linen

The Laredo Film Society (LFS) will be participating in Giving Tuesday this year on December 2.

Giving Tuesday is a global day dedicated to generosity, and the LFS is using the occasion to rally support for the programs, screenings, workshops, and community spaces LFS works hard to bring to Laredo.

Every contribution helps to continue building a creative, vibrant film culture in our city.

If you’d like to support the work of the LFS, donate anytime — today, on Giving Tuesday, or whenever it feels right. Every dollar truly helps keep the projectors rolling and the community growing.

Make a contribution here:
https://www.laredofilm.org/donate?form=GIVINGTUESDAY2025

LFS thanks you for being part of the LFS family and believing in what film can do for Laredo.

The River Pierce Foundation presents a Flamenco Guitar Concert featuring Grisha Goryachev on Sat., Dec. 6 at the Treviño-Uribe Fort, which is located at 604 Treviño in San Ygnacio. Doors will open at 4 p.m. The concert will begin at 5 p.m.

The outdoor concert under the stars at the historic fort is free and open to the public. We ask that everyone RSVP to this one-of-a-kind outdoor musical event. Limited seating is available on a first come, first served basis.

Cell phone use will be strictly prohibited. No photos, recording, or live streaming will be allowed during the concert. Photos will only be allowed after the concert.

In the event of inclement weather, the concert will be moved to the Henry M. Martinez Community Center located at 24 FM 3169.

Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) students enrolled in the Practicum Seminar in the Arts course will host an opening reception showcasing their artwork Thursday, Nov. 20 from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Center for the Fine and Performing Arts Gallery.

Admission is free and open to the public.

The exhibit, entitled Echoes and Ashes, will remain on display through Thursday, Dec. 4.

Participating student artists include Yazid Carriles Arriaga, Diana Flores, Genesis Galdamez Blanco, Tahira Gomez Vázquez, Eskay González, Samara Guajardo, Mark Gutierrez, Gaby Hernández, Leela Maciel, Katherine Mora, Laisha Salazar, Michael Silva Ruiz, and Romina Vidalez.

Artwork will encompass a variety of mediums including ceramics, drawing, mixed media, painting, and printmaking. Thematic artwork ranges from topics like change, progress, and transformation. While work is varied, the Exhibit’s artwork connects through shared ideas and showcases how each artist interprets transformation and memory in their own way.

The Practicum Seminar serves as the final class required for students to complete their bachelor’s degree in Art. The course gives students the opportunity to create, refine, and exhibit their work in a professional setting.

For more information, contact Emily Bayless, TAMIU assistant professor of Art, at emily.bayless@tamiu.edu.

The iconic words of world-renowned playwright William Shakespeare will come to life once again with live performances and a special film screening as part of TAMIU’s Shakespeare Mini Fest 2025.

All events are free and open to the public.

The week-long festivities begin with performances by the Texas Shakespeare Festival (TSF) Roadshow at the TAMIU Center for the Fine and Performing Arts (CFPA) Theatre. This is the fourth appearance by TSF at TAMIU. 

A performance of Shakespeare’s Greatest Hits is on tap Monday, Nov. 10, followed by a performance of Julius Caesar on Tuesday, Nov. 11. Both begin at 7:30 p.m., with CFPA Theatre with doors opening at 7 p.m. both days.

A film screening of the classic 1996 film, Romeo + Juliet caps off the week on Friday, Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. at the Alamo Drafthouse, located at 11210 Eastpoint Drive. Prior to the screening, a special lecture with members of the Borderlands Shakespeare Collectiva will be held.

The lecture, Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet and the Legacies of Borderlands Shakespeare with Katherine Gillen, Adrianna M. Santos, and Ruben Ramírez, explores Latinx and Mexican resonances of Luhrmann’s hit 1996 film. While the movie translates the Catholic Italian setting of Shakespeare’s play to “Verona Beach,” the lecturers will also look at artistic choices in Borderlands Romeo and Juliet Shakespeare adaptations like Edit Villarreal’s The Language of Flowers. These adaptations illuminate questions of race and citizenship within the play and the cultures that continue to reproduce it.  

Spearheaded by TAMIU assistant professor of English Dr. Kaitlyn M. Chacon, the performances are made possible by TAMIU's College of Arts and Sciences. The production also benefits from the generous support of artist accommodations and stays by La Posada Hotel. 

For more information, visit https://go.tamiu.edu/shakespeare

For additional information on the TSF Roadshow, visit texasshakespare.com/the-roadshow. 

Laredo College’s upcoming musical production, WORKING, pays homage to those at the heart of building a community, whether by laying bricks and foundations or planning for its future. 

Performances are set for the weekends of Nov. 8 and 15 at the Guadalupe and Lilia Martinez Fine Arts Theater. Saturday performances begin at 7 p.m., and Sunday matinees begin at 3 p.m. Admission is $10 for the public, while LC staff and students may enter free with their ID at the door.

Audience discernment is advised due to intermittent harsh language.

“For WORKING, people need to understand how many hands sacrificed themselves to build the buildings in which we work, the homes in which we live, the roads on which we travel, and the cities in which we complete all of it,” noted LC Performing Arts and Communication Director David McGinnis. He added, “I hope this production reminds us of the many people who built, and continue to build, the two nations that share our city.”

McGinnis, who has been eager to produce WORKING since 2018, said the musical reflects how people around the world live their lives. The LC production features a localized version that showcases Laredo’s workforce through interviews and original material, reflecting the community that creates and experiences it. “I chose to produce this because the people of Laredo have welcomed me into their city and their lives, and this allows me to honor their voices,” McGinnis said.

WORKING is based on the book of the same name by Studs Terkel. It was adapted for the stage by Stephen Schwartz and Nina Faso. It is presented by special arrangement with Musical Theater International. The production features songs by Craig Carmella, Micki Grant, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Mary Rodgers and Susan Birkenhead, Stephen Schwartz, and James Taylor.